New Motor Vehicles Bill to provide cashless treatment during first 45 minutes of road accident

To cut the red tape and the filling out of forms in private hospitals in an emergency, the Act said that a fund will be created by the Central government for cashless treatment for the "golden hour".Rachel Chitra | TNN | August 13, 2016, 17:34 IST

New Motor Vehicles Bill to provide cashless treatment during first 45 minutes of road accidentCHENNAI: In a welcome move aimed at saving lives, the Bill seeking amendment to the Motor Vehicles Act has made provisions for cashless treatment during the "golden hour" of the accident. For many road accident victims, the first 45-minutes is the most crucial time within which they need aid and which many a times prove the difference between life and death.

To cut the red tape and the filling out of forms in private hospitals in an emergency, the Act said that a fund will be created by the Central government for cashless treatment for the "golden hour". "In most foreign countries all accidents on highways are covered by insurance. So this is a progressive and welcome move forward," says a United India Insurance official.

"Many a time victims don't get aid because the accident is more than a 45-minute ride from the nearest government hospital. Say there is a private hospital only 5 minutes from the accident spot, the person still might not get treatment. Private hospitals don't take accident victims as they might not get back the money the shelled out for the treatment.

"There are many instance of people dying only because the cost of treatment was the hurdle. With insurance backing the hospitals, a lot of lives can be saved with introduction of this cashless facility," says the United India official.

The Bill also has increased the compensation for hit and run cases to Rs 2 lakh from the current Rs 25,000.

It also provides compensation up to Rs 10 lakh for road fatalities. "Currently insurers pay an amount equivalent to 0.1% of the third party premium underwritten to the pool of funds (Solatium Fund) being managed by the government to take care of compensation for hit and run cases," says Puneet Sahni, Head of Product Development, SBI General Insurance Co.

The Motor Vehicle Accident Fund created will provide compulsory insurance cover to all road users in India, says the Act.

To provide instant medical care to road accident victim free of cost on national highways, the Union Government launched two pilot projects in 2014.

The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways signed two MOU with IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Co & ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co to provide cashless treatment to road accident victims up to Rs 30,000 for treatment in the first 48 hours of the accident.